someone was talking to me, telling me the police and paramedics were on their way and that I shouldn’t try to move. “Katie. The little girl in the backseat. Is she okay?” She had gone quiet, and that filled me with a terror I had never felt before.
“Just try to stay calm,” the woman said, but I could hear the tremors in her voice. She was scared too. What was wrong with Katie.
“Katie!” I sobbed, but I couldn’t hear her. “Katie,” I cried over and over again.
The paramedics arrived after what felt like an eternity. They pulled me out of the wreckage, and it was only then I saw how bad it was. My car was totaled. I had run a red light and was T-boned. The other car’s hood had folded like an accordion, but the man driving it seemed to be okay. He tried to talk to me. To ask me if I was okay, but I was focused on where Katie was.
“Where’s my stepdaughter? She was in the back seat.”
Somehow, I escaped the wreck without any major injuries, only a cut above my eye that would need stitches. The medics insisted I be checked out, but I wanted to know where Katie was.
Then I saw her. Her little body was on a stretcher, and she was being pushed into the ambulance. “I have to go with her. I’m her stepmother!” I shouted, running over to her.
“Okay, you can ride with her to the hospital,” one of the paramedics said as I was already climbing into the back. Katie was awake, her eyes wide as she looked around her. They had strapped her to the gurney, her neck being kept still in case of a spinal injury. She looked so small and scared. I took her hand and immediately started crying.
“I’m so sorry, Katie Boo. I’m so, so sorry.” This was all my fault. I had done this. Gail had just told me they trusted me to keep Katie safe, and I betrayed that trust at the first opportunity because I was more worried about sending a message than driving.
How could I have been so stupid?
I needed to call Kyle and tell him—
My phone was missing. It must still be in the mangled carcass that was my car.
“I need to call my husband so he can meet us at the hospital. I don’t have my phone,” I said shakily, trying to keep the hysteria out of my voice. I didn’t want to frighten Katie any more than she already was.
“Dada,” Katie whimpered, her big eyes full of tears. “Dada.”
“My colleague can call him. What’s his number?” the woman EMT asked. I rattled off the number, and she made the call. I tried not to listen, instead, focusing on Katie. But I could hear his voice shouting through the phone.
“They’re being taken to Southport General,” the woman EMT told him. After she hung up, she gave me a grim smile. “He’ll meet you there.”
When we arrived at the ER, I could see Kyle waiting for us, his face a picture of grief and worry. Beside him stood Josie, wringing her hands.
The back of the ambulance opened, and the paramedics rolled Katie down the ramp. Kyle was immediately by her side, Josie running along beside him. I could hear Katie call out, “Dada.” And I started to cry again as I watched him take her tiny hand.
“Ma’am, you need to be checked out,” a nurse was telling me as I got out of the ambulance. I was trying to catch up with Katie and Kyle but was stopped.
“I’m fine. I need to be with my family.” I tried to fend her off. I hurried after them as a doctor was now wheeling her into triage.
“Whitney,” Kyle said when he saw me, his face wet with tears. “What happened?”
“It’s all my fault, Kyle. I ran a red light. A car hit us. I’m so sorry.” I couldn’t stop shaking. My teeth chattered so hard it was difficult to speak.
“Oh my God, Whitney. How could you?” Josie gasped, covering her mouth, her eyes red from crying. “Kyle trusted you to drive her safely.”
“Shut up, Josie. Just shut up!” I snapped, not able to control myself.
Kyle narrowed his eyes. “Now is not the time for this. I can’t—” he shook his head and turned to head back to where they had taken Katie.
Josie immediately started to follow, as did I. A nurse stopped us. “Immediate family only.” She looked between us.